Seven-armed candlestick (church)
A seven-armed chandelier can be found as part of the church furnishings in some, mostly medieval, churches.
symbolism
Menorah
The seven-armed candlesticks refer to the Jewish menorah , the seven-armed candlestick of the Old Testament Temple of Solomon , which is mentioned in the 2nd Book of Moses ( 2 Mos 37.17-24 EU ). Mediated through the illumination , the seven-armed candlestick found its way into Christian art. During the Carolingian era , replicas of this Jewish temple device were made, the oldest surviving example of which is the Essen candlestick from around 1000.
Jesse tree
Medieval theologians like Rupert von Deutz reinterpreted the seven-armed chandelier in the Christian sense as an image of Christ . The chandelier with its plant-like embellishments grows like a tree ( Tree of Jesse ) in height, which the Tree of Jesse springs. According to the prophecy of Isaiah ( Isa 11 : 1-3 EU ), the radix Jesse (root, trunk of the Isai) originates from the virga (scion), on whose flos (flower, Jesus Christ) the sevenfold Spirit of God will rest. It is also possible to interpret the chandelier as lignum vitae , the wood of life or the tree of life , which symbolizes resurrection and eternal life. It is fitting that some of the candlesticks were apparently donated as memorials .
Seven number
The number seven is of great importance in Christian symbolism and refers, among other things, to the completion of creation. It includes the numbers four (four evangelists and four winds) and three. In the Revelation of John , Christ appears with seven golden candlesticks ( Rev 1.12 EU ), which symbolize the seven churches ( Rev 1.20 EU ) to which John writes. Christ carries the keys of death and hell in the vision. The number seven can still be connected with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seven sacraments as well as with the Old Testament seven “pillars of wisdom” in the Book of Proverbs ( Prov 9,1 EU ).
Examples
The most important examples in German-speaking countries are
- the seven-armed chandelier in the Essen Cathedral Church (1000)
- the seven-armed candlestick of the monastery church in Klosterneuburg Abbey (1135)
- the seven-armed chandelier in Brunswick Cathedral (1170–1180)
- the Bevenser Siebenstern , a wooden chandelier that can be found in almost every household in Bad Bevensen . Among other things, he has been taken to church for early mass on Christmas Day since 1842. This custom has been preserved to this day.
More medieval seven-armed candlesticks can be found in
- in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague (1150–1158) ( cs )
- in Milan Cathedral (Trivulzio candelabra) (approx. 1200)
- in Busdorfkirche (approx. 1300)
- in Kolberger Dom (1327 by Hans Apengeter )
- in Sankt-Gertraud-Kirche , Frankfurt (1376)
- in St. Nicolai (Mölln) , probably from the Marienwohlde monastery (1436)
- in Eutin (1444)
- in Viborg Cathedral (1494)
- in Magdeburg Cathedral (1494)
- in Aarhus Cathedral (1515)
- in Nikolaikirche , Tallinn (1519)
- in St. Marien Cathedral (Fürstenwalde) (1538)
- in Abbey of St. Thomas and Abbey Church of the Assumption in Brno (15th century) ( cs )
- in Lund Cathedral (15th century)
- in St. Bonifatius (Freckenhorst) (15th century)
- in Sankt Nikolai kyrka , Stockholm (15th century)
- St. Ludgerus (Billerbeck)
There are modern seven-armed candlesticks
- in Pietarsaaren kirkko, Jakobstad (1706)
- in Uudenkaarlepyyn kirkko, Nykarleby (1752)
- in the Berlin St. Hedwig's Cathedral
- in St. Nikolai Cathedral (Greifswald)
- in St. Kilian Cathedral (Würzburg) (1981 by Andreas Moritz )
- in the Friedenskirche Berlin-Grünau (2008 by Achim Kühn)
- in the main church St. Nikolai (Klosterstern, Hamburg) (2002 by Ricarda Wyrwol)
- in the Matthäuskirche Ingolstadt
literature
- Peter Bloch : Seven-armed candlesticks in Christian churches. In: Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch. Vol. 23, pp. 55-190 (1961). On-line
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.stift-klosterneuburg.at/stift-und-orden/geschichte/zeittafel/
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 182
- ↑ Martin Stünkel The Bevenser Siebenstern , Siebenstern-Druckerei Schliekau, no year, 3118 (!) Bad Bevensen
- ↑ Information about the seven-star chandelier
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 188
- ↑ Silvio Leydi, The Trivulzio candelabrum in the sixteenth century: documents and hypotheses , in Burlington magazine , vol. 153, nº 1294, 2011, pp. 4-12.
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 188
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 186
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 184
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 188
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 183
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 189
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 187
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 181
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 189
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 184
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 187
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 184
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 189
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 188
- ↑ Bloch 1961, p. 189
Web links
- Search for seven-armed candlesticks (church) in the German Digital Library
- Search for a seven-armed chandelier in the SPK digital portal of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation